A National Day of Prayer

On May 5, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a law marking the first Thursday in May every year as a National Day of Prayer. (Earlier, President Harry Truman had declared a National Day of Prayer in 1952, but did not specify a particular day.)

Today, May 1, was the 20th anniversary of the National Day of Prayer authorized by Congress and President Reagan. I had the great privilege of attending the National Day of Prayer Observance in the East Room of the White House. As I left the White House and made my way to a press conference in Senator Russell Park (across the street from the Russell Senate office building) to protest the manifold human rights abuses perpetrated by China and North Korea, I could not help but express my heartfelt gratitude to God for the blessing of having been born in this great country.

After prayers by a rabbi and a Roman Catholic priest (the chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives), the President spoke eloquently and with heartfelt emotion about the role prayer has played in the history of our nation.

The fidelity to faith has been present in our nation’s leaders from its very start. Upon assuming the presidency, George Washington took the oath of office and then added the famous plea, ‘So help me God.’ On John Adams’ first day in the White House, he wrote a prayer that is now etched in marble on the fireplace in the State Dining Room, and he prayed, ‘may none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.’

The President preceded these words by paying homage to the religious pluralism that is one of the most treasured parts of our national heritage.

On this day, Americans come together to thank our Creator for our nation’s many blessings. We are a blessed nation. And on this day, we celebrate our freedoms, particularly the freedom to pray in public and the great diversity of faith found in America. I love being the President of a country where people feel free to worship as they see fit. And I remind our fellow citizens if you choose to worship or not worship, and no matter how you worship, we’re all equally American.

And then expanding his scope and vision beyond our nation’s borders, the President said:

I think it makes sense to hope that one day there may be an International Day of Prayer. . . . It will be a chance for people of faith around the world to stop at the same time to pause to praise an Almighty. It would be a time when we could pray together for a world that sees the promise of the Psalms made real: ‘Your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.’

May it be so. May it be soon. Amen.